Antonya Cooper, from Oxford, made admission to help efforts to change law on assisted dying
A woman has admitted giving her terminally ill seven-year-old child a huge dose of morphine to end his suffering more than 40 years ago.
Antonya Cooper said her son Hamish had experienced “horrendous suffering and intense pain” as a result of his stage four cancer and “beastly” treatment.
Continue reading...Bill being laid before Scottish parliament could, if approved, allow people in Britain to take their own lives within the law
UK membership of Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying association, has jumped to 1,900 people – a 24% rise during 2023 – as an assisted dying bill is laid before the Scottish parliament.
People from the UK now make up the second largest group who have signed up to the organisation, which is based near Zurich and helps people take their own lives. The largest group is currently Germans, although they can now get help to end their lives at home after a 2020 court ruling.
Continue reading...Senior Conservative and Labour figures said they would back changes to legislation on the issue in England and Wales
Two former health secretaries on Saturday night became the latest senior figures to join the growing demands for a new attempt to legalise assisted dying, as a prominent Tory said he is willing to champion the legislation in parliament.
With both former Conservative minister Stephen Dorrell and Labour’s Alan Milburn stating they back changing the law in England and Wales, the Observer understands that a Labour government would make time and expert advice available for an assisted dying bill should MPs back it in a free House of Commons vote.
Continue reading...Broadcaster, 83, is waiting to hear result of ‘miracle drug’ and says she wants UK law to let the terminally ill choose how they die
The ChildLine founder and broadcaster Esther Rantzen has said she has considered the option of assisted dying if her ongoing lung cancer treatment does not improve her condition.
The 83-year-old revealed that her cancer had progressed to stage four in May and she has since joined the Swiss organisation Dignitas, which offers physician-assisted suicide to members with terminal illness or severe physical or mental illness.
Continue reading...